Sam Allberry - Born again this way : coming out, coming to faith, and what comes next

This book has been missing from the shelves of the LGBT+ conversation for too long. People who are walking (or wondering if they should walk) a similar path as Rachel will feel seen, known, and loved as they read these tenderhearted and gospel-centered pages.

Laurie Krieg, author, teacher, Hole in My Heart Podcast host

This is a brilliant book by a remarkable writer with an astonishing story and a decade of theological training. It offers no glib before-and-after narrative, but a practical guide for sinnerssame-sex attracted and otherwisewho dare to believe that Jesus is the best lover. I wish I could give it to my younger self.

Rebecca McLaughlin, author, Confronting Christianity: 12 hard questions for the worlds largest religion

Rachel Gilsons life is a testimony to the sufficiency and power of the scriptures. Her book is a testimony to a living faith that is based on that sufficiency and power. Rachel doesnt just read Scripture faithfullyshe lives it faithfully, too. And her book challenges me, likewise, to grow in my faith beyond a life of comfort and easy answers.

Karen Swallow Prior, author, On Reading Well: Finding the Good Life through Great Books and Fierce Convictions: The Extraordinary Life of Hannah MorePoet, Reformer, Abolitionist

This book is a pastoral gold mine full of biblical advice for us allmovingly illustrated by the lives of Rachel and her friends. It wonderfully tells of how same-sex attracted people can both become Christians and stay Christian in a world which often believes neither is possible.

Ed Shaw, Co-founder, livingout.org and pastor, Emmanuel City Centre, Bristol; Author, The Plausibility Problem / Same-Sex Attraction and the Church

This book is worth reading just to learn about and rejoice in Gods work through Rachel. But the book offers so much more, with rich biblical reflection on identity, marriage, singleness, romance, friendship, and more. Rachels honesty and clarity make this book useful for sharing in so many diverse contexts, whether youre wanting to investigate Jesus and his gospel, or youre leading in the church.

Collin Hansen, Editorial Director, The Gospel Coalition; Author, Blind Spots: Becoming a Courageous, Compassionate, and Commissioned Church

Born Again This Way is a heartfelt, wise, and hope-filled book. In it, Rachel Gilson offers same-sex-attracted Christians and those who love them a Christ-centered and story-driven reflection on how to thrive in Christ. Not content to speak in generalities, Rachel delves into the practical everyday struggles of same-sex attracted Christians, speaking to questions about friendship, singleness, sex, and identity. The result is a warmly compassionate and theologically perceptive harvest of insights that will inform, challenge, and encourage the reader. Highly recommended.

Bruce Ashford, Professor of Theology and Culture, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary

I thank God for Rachel Gilson. She has written a book that is both a biblically faithful and, for her, a very personal explanation of and rationale for what the Bible says about human sexuality. She writes to all of us, but especially those who deal with the pain and confusion of same-sex attraction and sexual dysphoria. She knows this pain from the inside. So while she addresses these issues with theological carefulness, she does so with tremendous compassion, helping us see that Gods design for sexuality really is very good, merciful news.

Jon Bloom , Co-Founder and Board Chair, DesiringGod

One of my favourite moments in any James Bond movie is when Q turns up. Before Bond sets out into danger, he stops by the quartermaster to be given some latest piece of equipment or gadget. The scene normally provides a few moments of light relief before the intensity of the main conflict resumes. It is also a moment when we can guess something of what is going to happen in the rest of the film; because whatever Q gives Bond turns out to be exactly what he will need. If Bond ends up with a tall pepper mill that doubles up as a flame-thrower, we can be sure that at some point hes going to find himself in a pizzeria surrounded by evil henchmen. However weirdly specific the gadgets are, they will always be the exact thing he needs.

Im confident that for many of us, this book will feel just like that. In some senses this is a niche book. Rachel is addressing issues experienced by only a subset of Christian men and women. That specificity will be a huge gift to readers who at last realize they are not alone in what theyre going through. Yet the struggles Rachel addresses are also but one type of the battle faced by all who find themselves captivated by Jesus Christ, and her guidance and worked examples will apply to anyone.

Nearly twenty years ago I was confused and profoundly angry with God. This had been brewing for some time, of course, but the trigger had been that I was wrestling painfully with same-sex attractions and they didnt seem to be going away. When Id turned 21, Id said to myself that I wanted to be married with kids by the time I was 30. It seemed a noble aspiration: the sort of thing God would be pleased with me wanting. I wanted to be a godly husband and father, for marriage and family to be a means of service to God and blessing to others. And yet, as I hurtled into the latter part of my twenties, those hopes were becoming increasingly unrealistic.

The issue wasnt just timing. Ever since I had had any conscious feelings of intimacy and longing, theyd always been toward other guys. When I became a Christian, I assumed that those feelings would naturally subside and appropriate attractions to the other sex would take their place. The fact that this didnt happen left me confused and bewildered, angry with God for not doing what I took to be his job in all this.

What made it worse was isolation. Id not yet felt able to share these quiet agonies with anyone else. My Christian friends knew nothing of what I was going through, and instead made regular gay jokes that made me very hesitant to open up with them. I was going through all this on my own. I didnt know anyone who wrestled with unwanted same-sex attractionor even that such Christians might existlet alone have people to process this with and learn from.

So I wish Id had the book you now hold in your hands. Rather than the angry confusion of my own head, I could have had the compelling, elegant biblical wisdom that flows from Rachels. This book would not have taken away the struggles I was going through, but it would have provided much-needed encouragement and strength. Rachel writes with honestyat times searing, painful honestyand yet there is nothing gratuitous or voyeuristic going on here. Rachel is simply helping us deal with real-life issues that too often go unaddressed. But more than that, Rachel writes with wonderful biblical clarity and insight. Many of the truths shes about to share have been hard-wonlessons learned the hard way. But, as she so beautifully demonstrates throughout these pages, all these truths have their origin in a God whose words to us are always and unfathomably good.

Sam Allberry
Speaker and Writer, The Zacharias Trust;
Consulting Editor, The Gospel Coalition;
Author, Is God Anti-gay?

I wrote this book for you, though only you know why youve picked it up.

I became a Christian much to my own surprise. It was as if the sun of the gospel had evaporated my atheism in an instant.

But as time went on, one reality remained like a stubborn puddle: I was sexually attracted to women. I still am.

So many questions pressed for attention. How could something that felt so right be condemned as wrong? Why would God prohibit acting on these desires for love? Would I ever have sex again? What words should I use to describe my experiencesince neither gay nor straight seemed to fit? How should I navigate close female friendship in my new Christian community without everything getting complicated?